Kerio Valley Pokot elders resort to an old ritual to fight bandits

Insecurity in the Kerio Valley region is a riddle whose answer demands a multi-agency approach involving many key players.

But even with this understanding, the government and leaders in the region have tried and failed to curb banditry and cattle rustling.

And elders are now mulling going back to traditional strategies of promoting sustainable peace and security.

The Pokot Council of Elders has threatened to curse bandits wreaking havoc on the boundaries of West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo counties.

More than 30 people have been killed since the year began, the most recent being three slaughtered last weekend in Sokotouw village, Chesegon, Central Pokot sub-county.

The elders said they will conduct a ritual to curse those behind the spate of killings as those involved have moved from cattle rusting to killing innocent residents in the volatile area.

They will conduct a ceremony called “lapai” to punish the killers.

Lapai is the most dreaded punishment among the Pokot for the heinous crime of murder.

Lapai penalty

The murderer’s clan contributes to this collective punishment. Sometimes the victim’s clan confiscates cattle from the killer’s clan if they resist or delay proceedings.

The traditional council of elders enforces the payment.

When a Pokot (Pochon) man kills a fellow Pokot man, the most dreaded fine of the lapai is imposed.
It consists of paying 60 cows.

For women, the lapai attracts a fine of 30 cows, interviews with Pokot elders revealed.

It is also exercised when a person from one tribe kills another from a different tribe.

When this happens, the killer’s whole clan is punished by the aggrieved clan by destroying their property and killing them in revenge.

The current average market price of a mature indigenous cow in Pokot is Sh30,000.

A lapai penalty, therefore, translates to about Sh1.8 million for a male victim and Sh900,000 for a woman.

Banditry hotspot

This shows that those who kill fellow Pokot lose or are deprived of their most precious commodity - cattle.
Pokot Council of Elders chairperson John Muok said that they support the ongoing security operation in the area.

“We curse the youths who are killing people. We shall not allow a few individuals to bring animosity and uncertainty in the area,” he said.

Mr Muok said that last year they conducted the ritual in Kamelei, which used to be a banditry hotspot, crediting the ceremony for the current calm in the area.

“Chesegon has become worse and we need to deal with it,” he said.

He said they are engaging their Marakwet counterparts to buy cattle that will be used as compensation in the ritual.

Area chiefs and other administrators are vigilant and organise regular meetings to end the killings.

Mr Muok noted that the new strategies should bring together elders, who will hold a dialogue, establish the root cause of the killings and find a solution.

“Elders have the solutions. There was havoc in Lami Nyeusi and Kamatira on the Kitale-Lodwar highway, because it was dangerous for one to reach Kainuk, but calm was restored after elders met. We cursed devils and peace and development was realised. Guns did not succeed,” Mr Muok observed.

Flush out bandits

The former Pokot paramount chief called on the government to review the disputed county boundaries in the North Rift region, saying this was the genesis of conflict among the communities.

“The National Land Commission should review the boundary demarcated by colonialists and many things have gone wrong over the years,” he said.

“Those who will find themselves in Baringo, Samburu, Turkana or West Pokot should stay there and be residents of that place. This should be done this time once and for all. The boundary should be there like in our homes, where there are boundaries and we have title deeds.”

Mr Muok hinted that elders from Turkana, Pokot, Samburu and Marakwet communities will visit the volatile area of Chesegon with the security team to curse and flush out bandits.

“They should be prosecuted because the vices have led to many losses. Security officers, children and innocent women have been killed,” he said.

“We shall begin visiting border points from Chesegon, Turkwel, Kapedo, Nadome in Baringo and other hotspots. We are going to move house to house asking youths to surrender guns.”

He called on the government to conduct the operation in all counties affected by insecurity.

“They should clean all areas without bias. The youths from the two communities have moved from the cultural practice of raiding and are now fighting over boundaries,” he said.

Cultural intervention

“The operation should bring peace and should not be done on tribal grounds. We hope that Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya will succeed with the operation and resolve the thorny boundary issue.”

But he insisted that the ongoing operation should be humane.

“It should not interfere with children, women and the elderly. We don’t want to hear that people are not accessing water points. The one leading the operation should be cautious. Food should be taken to schools when they are opened,” he said.

William Lopetakou, another Pokot elder, noted that the only option they now have is to employ cultural intervention using rituals to maintain peace in the region.

“We are engaging leaders from both communities in coming up with a lasting peace strategy that will help improve their socio-economic status as opposed to retrogressive acts like cattle raids,” he said.

The government, he said, has never succeeded with the methods it has used in the past.

“The elders go to the killer’s home to perform the ritual. What we require is a homegrown solution to insecurity and so we need to be taught about good cultural practices,” he said.

It is also during such events that ordinary folk engage religious and other leaders in building unity.

Recurrent armed conflict

“The government should come up with different strategies of containing criminal activities and attaining peace. For peace to exist we must embrace using culture and we should bring on board all neighbouring communities,” he said.

“Recurrent armed conflict caused by cattle raids has contributed to increased poverty among pastoralists and it is time it is discarded in favour of alternative sources of income.”

Elder Solomon Mukenion said the goodwill from elders from the two communities will automatically end the escalating fights in border areas.

“The leaders inciting locals should stop immediately and join us in the peacebuilding process,” he said.

Pokot Central Deputy County Commissioner Were Simiyu said the authorities embrace any method, including traditional approaches, that can curb insecurity in the region.

“We need peace. We welcome any method, as long as it is not illegal, to fight insecurity in the area. The elders are free to conduct the ceremony together with the laid down government structures,” he said.

West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo called on elders from the Marakwet community to support the traditional ritual.

“We need development and nothing else. The devolution funds should help residents in the war-torn areas that were marginalised for long,” he said.